Abstract: It is widely accepted that corneal epithelial stem cells are located in the corneal limbus, and they have been named limbal stem cells (LSCs). LSCs are considered  playing an important role in the renewal and restoration of the corneal epithelium. However, recently several studies  came up with an idea that oligopotent stem cells are found in the whole ocular surface, and LSCs may not be the crucial factor in the corneal selfrenewal. All these suspects indicate that there may be some other stem cells maintaining the corneal epithelium selfrenewal. Nevertheless, the hypothesis is still controversial. This article focuses on the results of recent studies, introduces the latest progress in location and function of corneal epithelial stem cells.